William Gooch, Jr. (1716-1742)

William Gooch, Jr. was the only child of lieutenant governor Sir William Gooch and Rebecca Staunton Gooch. He married Eleanor Bowles of Maryland in 1740. They lived in Williamsburg at the Governor’s Palace with the elder Gooches. William Gooch, Jr. died in 1742. Governor Gooch retired and relocated to England in 1749. Apparently, William and Eleanor Bowles Gooch were painted in half-length portraits, which accompanied the elder Gooches back to England. Lady Rebecca Gooch’s will mentioned these portraits in her will and bequeathed them to Ralph Wormeley.

The 1775 will of Lady Rebecca Gooch states: “I give to Ralph [Wormeley] Esquire Senr. my Son and Daughters pictures half lengths that hang in the little parlour”

References: The Will of Dame Rebecca Gooch, Widow of Hampton, Middlesex, February 25, 1775. National Archives, Kew.